intervention statement: laredo 005
AMARIE BERGMAN
"There are two endless directions. In and Out."[1]
The accidental placement of two parallel lines in space may be quite inconsequential. But if the lines echo an architectural detail – like a zig-zag sandstone retaining wall at an abandoned caravan park – they then become connectors with the physical site and its history.
laredo 005 intervened with two white lines paralleling the configuration of such a wall: the only architectural remnant - among Norfolk Island pines, flame trees and decaying lanes - within the ex-Punchbowl Caravan Park on Holywell Street in Bunbury, Western Australia. Two long tapes of double-layered, woven fibreglass were placed on the ground. Although they mimicked the length measurements of the “zigs,” the slightest breeze lifted and animated them, changing calculated precision to refreshing spontaneity.
This intervention can relate to Richard Long’s land works that rely on simple media and echo the assembling of temporary boundaries: “outside is the chaotic universe; inside is the order.”[2] Bergman tapped into the sense of individual self-containment and belonging that some of the transient residents would have felt because the community relied on dual protocols: it was reassuringly exclusive yet inclusively protective. However, “all things must pass”[3] and the scene completely changed: the entrance became the exit.
The twin fascia-like ribbons of laredo 005 can be interpreted as symbolic alms to heal the derelict interval since the park’s drastic demolition 40 years ago. Certainly during the moments of this intervention, the distant past was connected to the future of the site through an honouring of remembrance.
[1] Agnes Martin Writings / Schriften [Ostfildern: Cantz-Verlag 1991] 18.
[2] https://brooklynrail.org/2021/07/artseen/Wood-Works-Raw-Cut-Carved-Covered
[3] George Harrison https://www.udiscovermusic.com/behind-the-albums/george-harrison-all-things-must-pass/
Comments:
Punchbowl’s last manager, Ralph Alfred Stone, “welcomed everyone to his caravan park by the sea. Gypsies, women fleeing violence, shell shocked veterans… (and he) believed that people who were marginalised needed help. One corner was set aside for the Slow Learning Children's Group compound. With his colleagues in Rotary, he was instrumental in devising and building a sheltered workshop which incorporated accommodation and work for people with disability. In recognition, Ralph received the Order of Australia medal.”
excerpt via: The Punchbowl Caravan Park Bunbury was both holiday home and hideaway
Gratitude to Paul MacGillivary who performed his ever-appreciated role as COOL.
laredo 005
former seaside caravan park / Bunbury, Western Australia
11 October 2022
images: https://www.amariebergman.com/gallery/images-laredo-005
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